Gravity-hinge.



W. J. HOPE.

GRAVITY HINGE.

APPLICATION I'ILED DEC. 18, 1912.

Patented June 24, 1913.

. v jNVE/VTOR WITNESSES I I W Llli o ae WILLIAM JAMES HOPE, OF TUNIGA,MISSISSIPPI.

GRAVITY-HINGE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 18, 1912. Serial No. 737,528

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. Horn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Tunica, in the county of Tunica and State of Mississippi,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gravity- Hinges;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and eXactdescription of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in automatic, selfoiling gravity hinges for doors of various kinds and comprises a simpleand eflicient device of this nature having various details ofconstruction and combinations and arrangements of parts which will behereinafter fully described, shown in the accompanying drawings and thenspecifically defined in the appended claim.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which 2--Figure 1 is a front elevation, partially broken away, of my improvedhinge. Fig. 1 is a vertical section. Fig. 2 is a top plan view. Fig. 3is a top plan view of a modified form of the hinge, Fig. 4 is a sideelevation, and Fig. 5 is a detail view of a guard upon the pintle of thehinge.

Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by letter, Adesignates a plate which is adapted to be fastened to the j amb of adoor and is provided with a laterally projecting portion A which, at itsupper edge, is recessed as at B, forming a receptacle for a lubricant.The bottom of said lubricating receptacle is inclined, and an inclinedridge D is formed about the inner marginal edge of the groove F in thebot tom of the receptacle and upon which the lower end of the hinge H isadapted to ride. A pintle K rises centrally from the center of the topof said projection and adapted to receive the hinge H upon which it ispivotally mounted. It will be noted that the lower portion of the hingehas a projection O which, when the door is closed, normally rests in anotch N formed in the inclined ridge upon which the door rides, saidnotch and projection being provided for the purpose of steadying thedoor when closed and preventing accidental opening of the door beforesufficient pressure is applied thereto to cause the hinge to move upwardagainst the inclined edge of the ridge. Said projeotion is adapted todipintothe oil contained within the receptacle and to lubricate the ridgeeach time the door is swung in one direction or the other. 7

In Fig. 3 of the drawings, I have shown a slight modification of myinvention in which, instead of providing a hinge for a door which swingsin opposite directions, the form illustrated therein is for a doordesigned to swing in one direction and in which the hinged plate M isadapted to be fastened to the door jamb and is provided with a lateralprojection M, recessed upon its edge and forming a receptacle I for alubricant, and an inclined way L is formed upon the inclined bottom, anda pintle G rises from said projection upon which the hinge G ispivotally mounted. A notch T is formed in the ridge for the reception ofthe project-ion G near the lower end of the hinge to hold the door fromaccidental movement, while a flattened portion R is formed near theupper edge of the inclined ridge to hold the door open.

In Fig. 5 of the drawings, I have shown a top plan view of aconical-shaped hood, designated by letter S, and which has a slot Stherein to allow the same to swing about the pintle and frictionallyengage the outer surface of the cylindrical portion of the hinge whichengages the pintle, said hood being provided for the purpose ofprotecting the lubricant within the receptacle from dust, etc., and alsoserving as means for obscuring the oil or lubricant.

In order to prevent a sudden slamming of the door, a knob or raisedportion, designated by letter J, is formed upon the in clined edge onwhich the hinge rides and positioned adjacent to the notch at the lowerend thereof and which will tend to break the swinging movement of thedoor as the latter returns to its normal position.

By the provision of a hinge made in accordance with my invention, itwill be noted that a simple and efiicient means is afforded whereby thedoor may be automatically closed without the utilization of springs, aridge or bearing upon which the hinge rides being adapted to lubricateeach time the door swings by reason of the projection Patented June 24,1913.. r

upon the hinge dipping into the lubricant and oiling the surface uponwhich the hinge rests and the notch will hold the door againstaccidental opening.

What I claim to be new is A self-lubricating gravity hinge comprising aplate adapted to be fastened to the jamb of a door and having alaterally projecting portion which is recessed, the bottom of the recessbeing inclined and having'a groove in the bottom thereof, the Wall ofsaid recess being inclined, a pintle rising from the bottom of therecess, a hinge member having a recess in the bottom thereof adapted tofit over the outer edge of the projection, a portion of the lower edgeof the recessed hinge member intermediate the recess and pintle adaptedto ride upon said inclined ridge and dip into the lubricant of thereceptacle, the ridge being provided with a notch for the reception ofthe part which rides upon the ridge, and a projecting hood fitted to thehinge member and adapted to cover said recess, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses. WVILLIAM JAMES HOPE. Witnesses D. W. CoKER, H. T. HALL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

